Airconditioner Water Leakage from Indoor Unit, Chronic Problem

[EHH]

Okay, so now that humidity is at its best, the split AC indoor unit is leaking water. Usual culprit is slime/mold/fungus/whatever in the drain pipe/outlet which connects drain pipe inside the indoor unit. AC is always serviced at the beginning of summer season.

There is no easy way to know before hand when will the leakage happen. The wall has all sorts of marks/lines formed due to water running down from the indoor unit. All AC walls in the house are ruined. Just got a room painted last month and the wall is now ruined.

The water leaks, mechanic visits, cleans and says "Ab thek ho gaya" (till next season). Yuck-terestingly once the mechanic sucked the drain pipe by mouth to clear the muck.

What is permanent solution ?

Thinking of getting some kind of suction pump like cooler pump but with inlet and outlet (cooler pump is submersible so it doesn't have inlet pipe) and connect it to drain pipe outside the room and occasionally run it. Came across a drill pump on amazon https://www.amazon.in/Electric-Exce...1_7?keywords=drill+pump&qid=1690280296&sr=8-7 , a drill is used to run it. Saw a video on YT about some kind of condensation pump which is installed inside the indoor unit, seems too much of a hassle.

Also noted that the indoor unit of one of the AC (which leaks every year) when viewed from front is slightly tilted down on left side from where the water leaks. The drain outlet is on right side.

Any ideas / suggestions ?

 

[aasimenator]

What is permanent solution ?

The only permanent solution is to use a hard PVC pipe instead of a soft one. the hard pipe does not bend, crack, or warp under long use and is therefore better.
Get deep cleaning done by the mechanics where they remove the indoor unit take it to the bathroom, and use pressure water to clean its fins, for the pipe cleaning you can try to get a funnel on the end of the indoor side and try to use some sort of a cleaner that unclogs drains.
Then there are these things as well that can be helpful.

 

[Rahyro]

Also noted that the indoor unit of one of the AC (which leaks every year) when viewed from front is slightly tilted down on left side from where the water leaks.

This is definitely why this particular unit is leaking as the water is not getting properly drained and so collecting inside the unit.

For the other units, ask the mechanic to redo the drain pipe connection in the indoor unit. Remove the tape, disconnect the joint and redo the connection.

 

[rahuljawale]

Concealed AC drain pipes are aesthetic but are pain to repair/clean when something goes wrong. I had the same problem in my flat. But at least we knew that the pipe opened in bathroom's main drain. After a couple of failed attempts by Urban Company technicians, I met one who was smart enough to find an ingenuous way to clean the pipe. He used the high pressure of the AC refrigerant refill tank to blow the blockages through the pipes.

He did not have the equipment to on hand to ensure proper seal in 1 inch drain pipe. So he improvised on the spot with a piece of rubber water hose and electric insulating tape. He attached the rubber hose to the outlet of the gas tank amd inserted the pipe into the drain. He sealed that end with waste cloth to ensure that there is no back flow of the gas. With that setup, he opened the gas tank for 3-4 seconds. The pressurized gas blew the slime and dirt that clogged the pipe through the other end of the drain.

Edit: If AC pipes choke up every season then they are not completely clean.

 

[EHH]

Happens again !
Now running AC with indoor cover off and soaking-off water with cloth every few hours.
AC mechanic acting like God and not interested in paying a visit.
Problem is while installation the fkrs routed the drain and other pipes such that there are at least 2x 90 degree turns.
I do not want to take re-installation, gas refilling, damaged coil etc scam route at the moment.

Looking for a small pump (like these submersible cooler pump) but with inlet to suck out the water from drain pipe, but no pump available has inlet option.
How to make a cooler submersible pump rotate in reverse direction so that it sucks instead of throwing ?

The only permanent solution is to use a hard PVC pipe instead of a soft one. the hard pipe does not bend, crack, or warp under long use and is therefore better.
Get deep cleaning done by the mechanics where they remove the indoor unit take it to the bathroom, and use pressure water to clean its fins, for the pipe cleaning you can try to get a funnel on the end of the indoor side and try to use some sort of a cleaner that unclogs drains.
Then there are these things as well that can be helpful.
View attachment 173503View attachment 173504

This clamp thing wont work as drain pipe has 2x 90 degree turns.
Pipe is hard pipe with mesh.

 

[chyawanprash]

The IDU should have second drainage outlet on the other side. Use that to collect water directly underneath it via clear PVC tube. You don't need to dismantle the IDU either. Just tilt the lower part of the unit away from the wall and uncap the second drainage outlet.

Submersible pumps need to be... submersed under water. They don't create vacuum to suck the water. What you need is a diaphragm pump, like you have in water purifiers and agricultural sprayers. They are an overkill for moving trickling water though. Also, they don't like dirt and debris.

 

[lockhrt999]

How to make a cooler submersible pump rotate in reverse direction so that it sucks instead of throwing ?

The drain pipe mostly contains air. Water pumps are terrible at sucking the air out. There are self priming (= ones who can suck), but they are still very, very slow to suck the air out. And, that's when there's no blockage. I'm talking about pumps which are like half HP or more powerful. Forget about puny cooler pumps.

You can,

• Have pressurized air unblock the pipes.
• Or, until you find someone, have another drain pipe drain the water in the room itself, preferable in a bucket.

Pipe is hard pipe with mesh.

Is it like this?

 

[mk76]

• At my place the IDU to ODU is 10 feet. So I got a 6 inch PVC pipe installed in wall which acts as housing for Split AC cables + drain pipe. When I changed AC it was easy to replace the wiring
• May sound silly, but when I faced issue with blockage, I used a funnel head pichkari to pull out all dirt.
  • The idea was to pour some warm water in IDU which will loosen up the dirt
  • And then suck it using the pichkari from the ODU side.
  • The funnel allowed to create a seal in drain pipe. And when pulled with force would suck out dirt + Water.
• After couple of runs it got all clear.

 

[EHH]

The drain pipe mostly contains air. Water pumps are terrible at sucking the air out. There are self priming (= ones who can suck), but they are still very, very slow to suck the air out. And, that's when there's no blockage. I'm talking about pumps which are like half HP or more powerful. Forget about puny cooler pumps.

You can,

• Have pressurized air unblock the pipes.
• Or, until you find someone, have another drain pipe drain the water in the room itself, preferable in a bucket.

Is it like this?
View attachment 198088

Pipe like this, Yes.

• At my place the IDU to ODU is 10 feet. So I got a 6 inch PVC pipe installed in wall which acts as housing for Split AC cables + drain pipe. When I changed AC it was easy to replace the wiring
• May sound silly, but when I faced issue with blockage, I used a funnel head pichkari to pull out all dirt.
  • The idea was to pour some warm water in IDU which will loosen up the dirt
  • And then suck it using the pichkari from the ODU side.
  • The funnel allowed to create a seal in drain pipe. And when pulled with force would suck out dirt + Water.
• After couple of runs it got all clear.

View attachment 198090

Thats what wifey suggested.

 

[lockhrt999]

Pipe like this, Yes.

You can try the pichkari/vacuum method. It shouldn't cause your pipe to collapse under vacuum, unless the blockage is too hard.